Volodos dante

Just bought his Vienna recital and whilst i gotta say the playing is pretty phenomenal, I sort of take some issue with is additions in the dante.
Sure, the more flamboyant pimp works can be souped up but I don’t think this should be. The man knew how to write for the piano and I think could have easily added what Volodos does (there’s nothing anachronistic).
Thoughts? or am I being a snobbish mofo?

I agree, it doesn’t need any additions.
This is one of the reasons I don’t watch that DVD that often.

I think you’re right on the money

snobs, dis vid is legandaire!

Norwegians… :wink:
I don’t like Volodos’ amendments in general actually. I’m all for experimentation and don’t mind changing the text when it’s done to highlight an idea, to take the work in a slightly different direction or give it a different flavor, but what Volodos does is normally just to add layers and layers of clay where none is needed until you have some sort of caricature of the original. I want spirit, not notes.

He’s a great, great pianist though. The best around today next to Sokolov IMO.

It’s basically my introduction to his playing (aside from the turkish march). I bought the CD before I found the whole DVD on youtube. The Scriabin is pretty dam fine - wasn’t a huge fan of the 7th but I started hearing things I liked.

I did like the Dante and I even liked some of the additions but I think he went too far. (chopping out 2 bars!) Does he do it in other rep or just Liszt?

Is it documented whether Liszt changed up his own works? The serious works that is. I know the story about Chopin spewing at him for embelleshing his.

he iz better than Sokolov iMO, and da Sock live is one of the best musical experiences ive had. da scrib 7 is sick, one of my fave pisces!

His Dante additions make it sound like a long-lost drunk Rachmaninoff gypsy impro 8)

Man, if da ZIFF himself didn’t see fit to add any significant sheeyatz - den da volodick should have kept his fat hands from this second-rate masterpiece manuzcript

:tm:

I like the changes for the most part, especially if they evolve from performance to performance like Horowitz often did with his tweaks.

His ones are the worst, vallée d’Obermann, cuts in the Liszt sonata (!!).

Yeah, the 1946 one has 2 mother fackin cuts

Just, inexplicable.

messing with the dante WTF reminds me of this story which is a fav

Yes the cuts really do bother me (unless they’re playing Sorabji…), but I usually don’t mind the pimped and tricked out versions.

:open_mouth:
I strongly recommend his debut CD on Sony. If you like I’d be happy to post (maybe PM) a few suggestions for worthwhile live recordings too. You’ve missed a titan!

Fun fact: da volcano himself hates that cd

Doesn’t surprise me, it contains a high percentage of bonbons which kinda set him on the path of being seen as a “super virtuoso”.
It took him a while to get away from that image.

I wonder if any of his current style is a reaction to that early reputation that derived from his debut CD, or really his couple of CDs which featured Horowitz-inspired transcriptions.

Yet you prefer his Danse Macabre to the original pimp?

Volcano or Volodick - can we get the name down please :ziff:

For the most part yes, except for the omission of the repeated octave part.
Neither of them were working with great material to be sure but I think Horowitz’s additions were an improvement.
Volodick is one of Comme or Zepp’s low imagination nicknames, think we can do better than that.

I’d drop Volodick, just in case he ever visited this forum for one reason or the other (remember da LIb!).